Dead By Daylight has amassed a long list of 26 killers that you can control to mercilessly hunt down poor survivors. The latest killer, The Artist, was added on November 9th of this past year and there is no sign of stopping the addition of characters any time soon. Because of this and the fact that the artist has been around long enough to see some nerfs/reworks, I feel like now would be a great time to break down a tier list of all the Dead by Daylight murders. However, instead of going off of a tier list that lists the straight up best and most powerful characters I will also be taking fun into account. Some characters are incredibly powerful but quite dull to play as, and others take a ton of work to master but are so much fun when you do.

Before I begin, I would like to preface this list with the statement that different people will find particular killers more fun than others, and anyone can be a great player with any killer. I played this game for countless hours on the Nintendo Switch, as the Pig of all characters, and would wipe the floor with any survivors I went against. That said there are clearly killers that are just straight up better than others, and universally recognized as more fun to play, so without further ado lets dive into the S-Tier.

SS-Tier

• Nemesis
  • Nemesis is so versatile as a killer it is hard not ranking him at the top of this list. Not only is he a staple boss from the Resident Evil series, but he is incredibly powerful as well. While he has a bit of a slow start do to him needing to hit or hook a few survivors before his perks/true powers are unleashed he becomes almost unstoppable at full power. He can smash through doors and pallets in the blink of an eye ending survivor chases quickly. He also spawns zombies randomly throughout the map that cause a general nuisance to survivors trying to escape. With so many things to do with him and ways to play Nemesis is certainly a contender for the best overall Dead by Daylight character.
• Pinhead
  • Another one of the newest additions to the DBD killer roster and in my opinion one of the most unique. Pinhead can control cosmic chains to stab into and rapidly reduce the speed of the survivors. He can quickly end chases with a well-placed chain and all of his animations for breaking things or picking up survivors looks incredible. There is also a puzzle box placed randomly on the map, if the box is left alone for a long period of time, then chains will relentlessly hunt all survivors until it is solved. If a survivor sees it then they can solve the box, but Pinhead can teleport to whomever is attempting this feat. The terrifying presence of Pinhead and his unique playstyle make him a top killer.
• Blight
  • Flying around the map fully visible to the survivor is a terrifying sight. The blight is there one second and gone the next. It takes little to no time for him to start taking down survivors and defending generators. He is not only one of the best killers in the game, but he is also incredibly fun to play around with.

S-Tier

• Huntress
  • The most negative thing about huntress is the dedication it takes playing her. If you want to get good as the axe wielding fiend then you have to spend many hours playing her to understand how to get her timing down. If you do this though you will be playing as one of the most fun killers the game has to offer. The Huntress has a terrifying presence which is heightened by her low singing voice that the survivors hear as she draws near. Especially when the song is not close enough to warrant an immediate threat, the survivor is instantly filled with terror as she looms nearby. Not to mention how good her tomahawk throw can be, you can get some satisfying squad wipes with her.
• Spirit
  • The spirit is the best killer in the games in terms of how good she can be. That said it takes a lot of effort to get perfectly sneaky with her and even when you do master her survivors tend to disconnect from the game when she arrives as the killer. Now, this issue may not happen to all the readers out there, but I know it happens to me and others. However, this does not stop Spirit from being an absolute blast to play when survivors want to actually play the game. Her abilities are spot on and the fact that she can cloak herself in invisibility so well really adds in a scare factor.
• The Ghost Face
  • The ghost face is probably the killer that causes the most controversy amongst Dead by Daylight fans. On one hand he is the only character to effectively crouch and eliminate his heartbeat sensor, making him the best stealth killer by far. That said he has nothing else going for him, with only average perks and no other special abilities. That said because of this Ghost Face is a truly terrifying killer, survivors are having to constantly watch their backs for him, and when you get the jump on one of them it is fun to watch as their character glitches around as you have taken the player by surprise.

A-Tier

• The Executioner
  • A clunky killer from the Silent Hill series, better known as Pyramid Head. Pyramid Head has a solid ranged attack that helps prevent survivors from looping you in a chase. That said he has almost no mobility and one of the slowest movement speeds in the game. His steep learning curve makes him fun to play for the same reasons as the Huntress, but unlike her you don’t tend to grow rusty as fast. While her throwing timing is different and takes time to relearn, the executioner is more about predicting survivor movements and he is a blast to play as.
• The Hag
  • The Hag is another killer that tends to score a bit higher on other tier lists than this. She is a fairly slow killer that balances this with her ability to create mini hexes on the ground. When a survivor steps on these, she is instantly teleported right in front of them. When mastered, this creates a fun game of cat and mouse that the survivors cannot hope to escape. One wrong move and you are back on the chase. That said, how much fun she is to play is heavily influenced by the survivors. If they outchase you and continually avoid the hexes, whether it on purpose or not, it will be a long and boring game.
• The Pig
  • I am going to catch flack for this but please let me make my case. Often referred to as one of the worst killers in Dead by Daylight is the Pig. Like Ghostface, she has the ability to crouch and kill the heartbeat sensor, but it reduces her movement speed far more than him. From this crouch she can use her charge ability to squeal and rush the survivors. If properly utilized, this ability can end chases quickly and run down fast thinking survivors. That said, I love her infamous reverse beartrap ability. Once you down a survivor you can place one of SAWS famous reverse beartraps on their head. If they are released from the hook, they have to get their beartrap off by going to different jigsaws stations around the map before their head explodes. When you do this to multiple survivors it takes them off generator duty and you can practically feel the other players anxiety. For these reasons I place Pig at the bottom of A-Tier.

B-Tier

• The Plague
  • The Plague is another killer with a ridiculously slow movement speed, but one of the better range attacks in the game. She can shoot projectile poisonous vomit at survivors; this infects them and if left untreated they will be downed. This creates a similar situation to the Pig’s traps, as there are several altars placed throughout the map for survivors to cleanse themselves of the plague. However, when survivors cleanse themselves, they make the Plague much stronger, and her vomit will eventually down survivors easily. I personally dislike playing as the slower characters, but because of the pressure Plague can put on survivors in a hurry she is a lot of fun to play as.
• The Doctor
  • The Doctor is a killer that really messes with a survivor’s psyche. His static blast helps him locate survivors quickly and even better is the effects it has on them. A survivor will get headaches and begin to see images of the doctor randomly around them. While it can sometimes be easy to spot the illusions it is still terrifying when afflicted. Not to mention the fact that when the doctor is chasing his victims and they see illusions they really begin to trip out. Watching survivors make foolish mistakes, knowing it is because they are tripping out is a lot of fun.
• The Trickster
  • No killer is more flamboyant than the Trickster. His movement speed may be a bit slower than most, but he must glide in style while throwing a barrage of neon knives at his targets. If you can land ten of them your target will go down. That said other than this there isn’t a lot to this character unless you like anime, because that is clearly where his design was inspired from. He has a spiky bat, but other than those knifes and style there he is fairly regular. I will say that he is a really easy to use first time killer.
• The Nurse
  • Almost universally declared the best killer in DBD, but with an absolutely steep learning curve. She can teleport instantly in a straight line all the way across the map. This makes her excellent at generator protection as she can zoom between each one quickly. That said her normal speed might be the slowest out of all the killers and her ability is hard to control as you may often teleport too far. There is rarely a decent nurse, they are either overpowered and wipe out the survivors in a few minutes or they are terrible and hardly manage to hook a single survivor. If you are willing to grind her out and learn her abilities then she is fantastic, as they are the best in the game, but in my opinion, there are a lot more fun characters to play as.
• The Trapper
  • The Trapper is a classic DBD killer, but in reality, he is just a worse Hag. He has a slow movement speed, and he can only place a finite number of bear traps around the map. When a survivor steps in one, he is alerted and it takes them awhile to free themselves, plus they will leave with a hit of damage. He is fun to play as and good at ending loop chases with well-placed traps, that said he is also fairly basic.
• The Artist
  • The newest addition to the horrific world of DBD and so far, I am unimpressed. The Artist has a solid movement speed for a ranged killer. She can cast out a raven spirit to attack her pray and then the cloud of ravens will continually annoy her survivors until they shoo them away. The ravens can go through objects, but they only do hit damage if they make direct contact. She is probably the best killer to practice range timing with, but I particularly do not find her very scary and if you do not fear the killer chances are the survivors won’t either.

C-Tier

• The Wraith
  • An overall average killer is the Wraith. He can turn invisible by ringing his bell, but he cannot attack until he is visible again. This means that he must once again pause to ring his bell. While this may startle survivors at first, when they hear the bell, they will know to run. I was never very successful with the wraith, which may be influencing my decision, but I personally find his bell ringing to take too long. It gives the survivors plenty of time to get a solid head start on any chase.
•  Legion
  • Another killer that tends to find his/her way down at the bottom tiers is Legion. A gang of kids (you only play as one) who run around slashing up survivors. Their ability, Blood Frenzy, has always needed a rework. It gives you an insanely fast movement speed, but you cannot down survivors with it. Only bleed them, and it staggers Legion when it ends, leaving them unable to finish a chase. Overall Legion is fun to play as and a good starting character when it comes to learning the basics, but not one you will want to stick with long term.
• Demogorgon
  • Another average killer with the only real pull being his affiliation with the Stranger Things franchise. Demogorgon is slow but can place portals down across the map which allow for decent map control. Other than this though, he is a fairly clunky character and just not as much fun to play as others.
• Leatherface
  • Leatherface is an easy killer to pick up and play as. Not only does he add the fear factor when survivors are forced to stare him down, but he is a fairly powerful killer to boot. His ability allows him to swing his chainsaw wildly and instant knockdown survivors and pallets. That said he is incredibly slow and experienced survivors will know how to avoid him. All that said, he is great fun for newcomers and his perks Barbecue and Chili are some of the best in the game.
• The Oni
  • Another one of the better killers ranked low due to how much less fun you can have with them. While the Oni is powerful and can quickly overpower his survivors one, he lands a hit, the game becomes a bit too easy afterwards. Bleeding survivors leave blood spots behind that lead you to them and power you up. Once the Oni is fully powered up, he can charge and down a survivor with one hit. That said, survivors who know they are facing an Oni these days will run around pre-dropping pallets as these will end his ability and prevent his powerup. This simply makes the Oni not fun to play as and an entirely survivor dependent killer.
• The Hillbilly
  • A once top tier killer massacred by nerfs. The Hillbilly wields a chainsaw and can fly across the map in a straight-line sprint which ends chases with survivors running in a straight line… Which rarely happens. His abilities are an amateur mimic of the Nurses’, and he is rarely played in higher level matches. I recommend that, unless you have some affiliation with the deformed Hillbilly, you play as a different killer.

D-Tier

•  Deathslinger
  • His last nerf lowered his hitbox radius and that’s all I really have to say about him. You have to shoot survivors with your hook gun and reel them in like a fish to hit them. He also has a fairly long reload time after each unsuccessful shot, leaving now aware survivors plenty of time to escape. He is a survivor I never personally found that fun even when he was good, but now he is simply frustrating.
• The Clown
  • The poor Clown has always been the clown of Dead by Daylight. He can throw bottle concoctions at survivors that slow them or do damage to them, but his throws are wildly inaccurate. He can be made a bit better with perks but is an overall weak killer that offers some really lame abilities compared to his other fellow killers.
• The Twins
  • The Twins are a great idea gone terribly wrong. The only killer that actually lets you control two is an absolute clunky mess. Victor is a fast little killer that provides great mobility, but his hitboxes are all over the place and many pounces do not land. It also takes a while to switch between the two and it provides a very clunky experience. Hopefully they get a rework and if they do this is a killer who could easily shoot to the top of this list.
• Michael Meyers
  • The king of Halloween himself is at the bottom of this list and it really hurts my heart. Michael’s Evil Within ability is incredibly complicated and hard to master even for experienced players. It also doesn’t help that there is very little fun to be had with him. You stand there menacingly and chase down survivors with a knife. His movement speed is way to slow and other than his heartbeat sensor being replaced with his classic scary tune, there is very little fun in playing as Meyers.
• The Nightmare
  • Good ol’ Freddy used to reign supreme in DBD, before his epic nerf. His nightmare ability was dampened, the number of dream snares he could set were limited, he gained a movement penalty, pallet snares were limited, and survivors using alarm clocks to wake out of nightmares were given 30 second immunity to it and from falling asleep. This rework has destroyed this character and made him much more challenging to play with.

Well, there you have it our long list has finally reached its end. Please remember what I said above, any one of these killers can be great if used correctly and properly trained with. I just hope that this list helps you choose which character will match your playstyle best. Happy hunting!

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